Teaser: The Resolute
by Carol Molliniere
Summary: Unlike in the world you know, reader, magic here is considered a gift from God. Sneak peek at new AU.
1. Fishing

**(A/N: I'm back in the Bible fanfiction boat, baby! Time for this new story of mine to test the waters. You don't have to do much except tell me what you think! Violent reactions optional.)**

 **Disclaimer: I'm not part of the people who wrote the Bible, and of course I'm not God. This AU was also partly inspired by one of my friend's ideas; but I used it with her permission.**

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The Sea of Galilee was dotted with boats, the way it was normally, if this day wasn't the Sabbath, the day of rest. These boats belonged to fishermen, who were setting out to acquire their first catch of the day. Many of them glanced down at the sparkling waters, wondering what kind of catch awaited them, whether it be a poor one, or – if the Lord wished – a large one.

Though you, reader, might be confused as to why these fishermen didn't bring any nets with them when they set out. But the answer was clear and simple: in this alternate world, they didn't need nets.

One such fisherman who was out on this fine day was named James, and he was the son of a fisherman who was Zebedee. He looked out to another boat – the boat of his friends, Simon and Andrew, who were brothers. He waved at them, and then turned around to the stowaway who was hiding under a sheet.

"John, you can come out now, I know you're there." James called. A face peeped out from under the sheet, and slowly John, his younger brother, showed himself. "Is Father not here?" John asked James, who shook his head. "No; otherwise I wouldn't have told you to come out. You know Father wouldn't allow you on a fishing boat, and you're just lucky he had to travel to get a new table since Simon wrecked the last one."

"Look, I'm sorry about the remark I made about his father, alright?"

"I think now he knows you didn't mean it." James crossed his arms. "But seriously, don't ever say such things in front of someone like Simon. You know how his temper can get."

John walked up to his brother, and then looked around at the other fishermen, before turning back to his brother. "I didn't come here just to chat, Brother. Can you do the magic now?"

Chuckling, James nudged his younger brother. "You do the magic yourself."

"You know I wasn't born with that kind of power." John raised his eyebrows. "Father won't prohibit me from going on potentially dangerous fishing trips with you for no reason."

"Relax," James flexed his fingers, before walking to the edge of the boat. "I'll make sure you won't drown. Don't think I'll save you from Father's anger when he finds out, though."

"Just do it, James, or the others will beat you to that catch!"

"Alright!" The older man looked down at the lake below, and then stretched his hand out towards the surface of the water. Ripples shot out from under his hand – even though it wasn't touching the surface of the water – and then James lifted his hand.

A large bubble of water emerged from the water, and James lifted it higher, so that John could see the amount of fish that was still swimming inside the water. He cheered with amazement at the feat that his brother had done, and felt even happier when he felt the same exhilaration inside his brother's veins.

Yes. In this world, the fishermen use the power of water to aid in their exploits. And it didn't stop there. John, James's brother, isn't able to use such magic, but instead he can read the thoughts and emotions of other people. Many other people possessed this ability, and others had the ability to control fire, wind, flora, and metals. More had the gift of creating visual art.

Unlike in the world you know, reader, magic here is considered a gift from God.

And yet unbeknownst to these people, a greater gift from God was already standing in their midst.


	2. Beggar

A beggar sat by the side of the synagogue. Many people passed by him and covered their faces, while others dropped a few coins into his open hands. And he thanked every one of them.

"Thank you," he told one man who gave a little more than what others had put in. The giver turned back to his friend, who raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, Philip," the giver told him. "I have plenty left over."

Philip glanced from his friend to the beggar, who was busy asking for some more money, and then back to his friend. "Are you sure that will last you for today, Nathanael?"

"His heart was glowing blue. He needed it more than I did." Nathanael reassured him gently, and then clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. We need to get inside." With that, Nathanael walked forward, though Philip lingered a little longer.

Blue, in Spiritual terms, meant the emotion of sadness and shame. Of course his friend would be compelled to help. Philip sighed, and wished for a little while that he could be able to see the things that Nathanael could.

He looked down at his hands, then up at the beggar. Now he felt compelled to give something as well.

Philip bent down to the ground, and placed his hand on the dirt.

If the beggar had looked down at the right moment, he would have noticed a tender seedling slowly creep its way out of the ground. It looked small for now, but the Earth Elemental knew the plant would grow to become a strong and sturdy fig tree in its own time. For now, all it needed was to sprout.

Philip stood up, and considered the shade it was about to give a well enough gift. Then he walked to where his friend was waiting for him.

Nathanael looked him over, and smiled. "You seem happy."

"I do?" Philip laughed a little. His friend nodded. "It's written all over your mind. You did something good as well."

Philip just nodded absently. Of course the Spirituals were able to read minds as well as hearts. Not that many of them couldn't control it; they just liked being able to communicate better without the inhibition of hidden thoughts.

At least, the Defaults – the majority of the population – did.

The Gifteds, on the other hand, weren't so good with their peers. They were more concerned with logical thinking and how to get things done using their magic.

And the Controlleds...who knew what _they_ thought? For they were the bane of the population, the despised.

Philip was lost deep in his thoughts when the synagogue leader stepped up to begin the service.

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 **(A/N: Against normal teaser rules, I decided to make one more for this AU. More world-building, of course, for the curious.**

 **People in this AU are classified according to their title (Default – the majority of the people, Gifted – the top logical thinkers and magicians, Controlled – those who for any reason cannot use magic, and Resolute – those who can use all magic) and their type of magic (Elemental – those who control any of the elements of fire, water, earth, and wind; Spiritual – those who are more attuned to the mind, the heart, the soul, and music; Visual – those who can create art and illusions; and Mechanical – those who are proficient with metal, wood, and rocks).)**


	3. Witness

**(A/N: I know, I know. Another teaser? When am I going to actually post the actual story? I'll tell you that it's when I'm done with the second chapter. Maybe I'll get around to posting the Christmas story on Christmas. Or not.**

 **And don't fret, Reverse Falls followers, I will post the third part of "Irrational Treasure" sooner or later. Although maybe later. (shot))**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible. And the facts about the apostle who will be mentioned here are fictional, as far as I'm concerned.**

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People stood by the synagogue to catch a glimpse of the case that was going on. It was another case of a thief stealing a bag of money from another person's belt in broad daylight. Of course, it was a crowded place, so no one could be really sure. But what the people gathered there knew was that there was one thing that the suspected thief could have against him: a Visual had seen what he had done.

Now Visuals, because of their ability to cast images out of thin air, were incerdibly useful if they had witnessed a crime. Their powers were, quite simply, at their best when they were praising God, as an old story went. And the Jews believed that if a Visual was telling a truth, well, they were pleasing the Lord.

This was the reason why the priest, standing in front of the synagogue, told the Visual standing in front of him, "Give God the praise! Tell us what you saw, _bar-Yehudah_ , that we might know what has transpired under your watch."

The man, however, didn't speak up to be heard. His mother, who was standing beside him, pushed him forward. "Go on," she gently urged him, "don't be afraid because of your disadvantage."

When he heard this, he finally stepped forward, and nodded at the synagogue leader before stretching out his hands and making them bleed color.

Many children in the crowd gaped in awe; some of them had never seen a Visual work his magic before. The colors coming from the witness first poured out like the paint of the pagans, before clouding like smoke and finally accumulating into a realistic image in front of all.

In the image, throngs of people were standing around, walking on the roads in an effort to get somewhere. The victim of the crime stood out in particular; he was busy having a conversation with a friend when a man snuck up from behind him, hesitating a little, before wrapping his hand around the bag of money and running away with it. Since everyone around was busy with their own troubles, they had not seen anything; even the victim had not realized his bag was missing until a minute later. But the young Visual had seen it all the same.

And when the crowd saw who the perpetrator was, they shrunk away, leaving the culprit to stand in front.

"You!" the young man's mother cried, pointing at the culprit – who was also her son. "Judah, what have you done?"

"Mother, you know as well as I that we need more money to pay off our debts," the man known as Judah said. "And yet you curse the name of Israel by stealing from your neighbor!" his mother rebuked him. "You have made your brother a more admirable man than you!"

"Even though he is dumb?" Judah spoke out. "Even though he will never be able to live a normal life?"

"Enough of this!" the synagogue leader called, and the whole assembly fell silent. "We must throw Judah _bar-Yehudah_ into the jail until he can pay recompense to Ezekiel _bar-Hoshea_." The whole crowd said "Amen!" as guards seized Judah by the arms and dragged him away.

The young man watched his brother be led away, and turned his head, not wanting to meet Judah's eyes.

"Don't trouble yourself about him, Matthias," his mother reassured him, putting a hand to his cheek. "Whatever God's reason is behind your being mute, you have an obligation to say and do what is true, no matter what. Remember these words so when you are at the hour of your death, you will have no regrets. The LORD does not put his servant to shame."

Matthias turned his tired eyes towards her, and nodded. Then they walked towards their house, his footprints blue even though there was no paint on his sandals.

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 **(A/N: So, yeah. This was the hardest teaser to write, considering the laws written in the Old Testament weren't the easiest to enforce in New Testament times even before Jesus's ministry, what with the Roman occupation and all. I need the scholars to help me figure stuff out.**

 **...Then again, it _is_ an AU, so a lot of laws have to be remade to suit this universe's needs.)**


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